Konoha's Falling Leaves
by chickenwire
Summary: Because everyone has a story. Sets of drabbles travelling though the Naruto character list until it is finished. Updated weekly. This week: Koyuki Snow Princess
1. Prologue

* * *

\/p>

**Hello All! **

**This is the story of those of Kohona. **

**Every single person on the character list will have a short drabble about them, their lives, their loves, their hates. **

**It will continue, until all characters have been done. **

**On average, each character will have one week in the spotlight before I add another chapter and change the character. **

**By the end, this will be the one story on (that I know of) that says Char:all and means Char: all. **

**This is the tale of Kohona's fallen leaves. **

**Those who are undermined, overlooked, exaggerated, or perhaps even forgotten - all will have something about them, that makes this story theirs, if even for a little while. **

**Naruto and Shippuuden characters only**

**Enjoy **

**Chickenwire**


	2. 4th Hokage

**4****th**** Hokage **

He preforms the sacred seal, his hands moving fast. He sees the beast coming towards him, towards Konoha…

_His _Konoha.

The demon of death begins to emerge. He continues to watch, helpless, as its nine tails destroy the mountains at its side, its claws tearing at the brave Shinobi who attack it.

_His _brave Shinobi.

The Fourth Hokage preforms the last seal and says the words that will seal the Kyuubi away in the ultimate vessel, the prefect protection. The demon of death emerges fully and flies towards the Kyuubi, teeth gnashing, arms outstretched, ready to clasp its soul in its palms. He has saved a country, in sacrifice for a child.

_His _child.

His last thought, and one regret, as he feels his soul being ripped from him, is that he never _did _see that great, beautiful, blonde haired baby that was going to change the world.

_Make your father proud…_

…_Naruto…_


	3. Anko

**

* * *

**

Anko

"Well, little girl? Would you like to become my student?"

Anko stares at the man in sheer disbelief. Had she heard wrong?

He smiles that strange, knowing smile he has, his long, dark hair coming down over his death pale face.

She looks at all the others in her class. He had had so many to choose from, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Genma, Hayate, Iruka…all of these people were stronger then her, all of them had a strength, something that set them apart. They were all so much better…and yet…he didn't want _them_, he had chosen_ her_!

"Ha…hai! I would like that very much!" she says, excited and eager.

The man laughs, "Well then, come on." He turns and Anko follows him, turning back to the others and throwing a triumphant, glorious grin.

Even the genius Kakashi hadn't been asked by a _Sannin _to become their student!

She looks up at the man with awe and respect. This was the first time she had ever felt important, and she had _him _to thank. She is overwhelmed with a sense of devotion and love and firm, unshakable loyalty.

Orochimaru and her would _always_ be together. They had something no other teacher and student had.

_Trust_.

* * *


	4. Asuma

**

* * *

**

Asuma

Asuma sees himself for the first time.

He sees himself, at nine graduating from Ninja Academy. He sees himself, at twelve, committing his first murder in the name of the Kohona Shinobi. He sees himself, at fifteen, trying his first cigarette. He sees himself at eighteen, finally noticing that Kurenai had different parts to him. He sees himself at twenty, watching Kurenai in the bathhouse, and actually feeling _ashamed _afterwards.

He sees himself at twenty four, receiving three untrained, rude, slow and lazy ninja to train into proper Kohona shinobi. He sees himself at twenty five, saying goodbye to his now Chuunins. He sees himself at twenty six kissing Kurenai, hugging her, and for the first time, loving her.

He lies here, at twenty seven, and can't help but also think of the things he will never do.

He will never be able to hold that baby in his hands. He will never be able to touch its soft hair. He will never see it marry, see it happy, see it graduate, see it grow. He will never even know if it is a girl or a boy.

Asuma realises too late what the most important thing in life is, but he will not let his student lead the same fate. He calls Shikamaru to him, and with his last breath, whispers the most important thing he has ever learnt into his ear.

"_It's all about the children, Shikamaru…what we fight and die for…it's all about__…family..._

_"...protect Kurenai and our child…for me…" _


	5. Baki

**Baki **

Baki was known for his unluckiness.

Firstly, he was unlucky to be called Baki – a name so close to the word _baka _that half the country of Suna thought that was his actual name.

He was unlucky to have hurt his eye at the age of eleven, thus forcing himself to constantly wear a drape and thus have a 'curtain' across the side of his head. His 'friends' told him it was an improvement.

He was unlucky because his parents had died when he was only twelve, and even more unlucky, because that made him a better shinobi…and thus noticed by the Kazekage.

He was unlucky because the Kazekage had given him the obligation of looking after his three children. The eldest being a feminist, anger prone _female_, the middle having an unnatural attraction to makeup, despite clearly being male, and the third, who was known for his ability to _kill _anyone who offended him in the slightest.

He was even _unluckier _when the Kazekage died, and his will had left him with his three psychopathic children.

He vividly remembers his fellow Shinobi laughing and saying, "Man, Ba_ka_, you're one unlucky bastard!"

But sitting here, Temari cooking and singing in her loud, out of tune voice, with Kankuro teaching Gaara how to make a puppet, Baki can only smile and think of just how _far _they've all come…

"Hey, Baka! Dinner's ready!"

…and just how _lucky _he was, to have been privileged enough to have shared the journey with them.


	6. Chouji

**Chouji **

Chouji collapses against the tree and traces his friends writing with his hand, smiling. _'hurry up fatass,' _said Naruto, _'catch up soon.' _

Oh, if only they could see him now.

Chouji leans against the trees back and closes his eyes. He can hear his muscles screaming at him under his skin. He can feel the tissue deteriorating. He can smell the evaporating blood and sweat from his skin. He can taste destruction impending. He can see the bone.

Chouji is skinny.

Chouji is _dying _

Chouji is exactly what he has wanted to be his entire life. He is skinny, he is just like everyone else, he is exactly what a person should like. He is not a shame to his friends. He is no longer overweight. Chouji is _normal_.

Chouji is – at last – what he has wanted to be his _entire _life, and he only has a few minutes to enjoy it. He cannot help but laugh at the irony. He is exactly what they all wanted, and no one will even know.

But it's alright, Chouji decides, sinking into the tree trunk and letting the butterflies carry him, at least his friends are safe.

At least his friends are safe. At least his friends are safe. At least his friends are _safe_.

Chouji is skinny, and Chouji is dying, but that's okay.

Butterflies have never lived for long.


	7. Chouza

**

* * *

**

Chouza

Chouza swore to himself he would never call his child something that begins with 'chou'.

He had gone through so much when he was young (before Inoichi and Shikato had found him and taken him in as their own), made fun of, becase in _no way _would he _ever _resemble the beautiful, graceful, kind butterfly.He was a caterpillar. Ugly and lazy and slow.

'Chou' was supposed to be pretty, 'Chou' was associated with butterflies. Chouza knows he is _no _butterfly. He is big and fat and ugly, and to be called 'Chou' anything was a cruelty worse then death. Chouza will _never _be a butterfly, and no child of his would ever be one either.

It was their family curse.

He swore to himself that he would _never _name his child 'Chou' anything, that he would _never _inflict that onto his cursed child.

Then, his wife's water broke.

He looks at his wife and gives her a smile, touching her hand softly. She smiles back at him, sweat on her brow and tears in her eyes to match his. She is breathing normally now, he is pleased to find. He kisses her head and turns at a polite cough.

He looks at the nurse as she holds him out to him. He looks down at the small bud in her arms, wrapped in protective layers of soft white, and takes him from her.

His son.

He touches the perfect hair, traces the perfect face, and touches the perfect stomach, staring into the blue, perfect, simply _perfect _eyes. He cannot believe that this beautiful creature came out of _him_, that this beautiful, gorgeous, _perfect _child is _his_. He cannot help it. He cries.

He lifts the child up into the sky and can see the wings coming out of his sides. He can see the baby becoming great and powerful and large, he can see him flying into the blue sky of victory.

Chouza can think only one word matches this beautiful, shining, glistening, rainbow boy.

"Chouji."

* * *


	8. Dan

**Dan**

Dan didn't think he could die.

He lies on the ground, but is not worried about the blood that seeps out of him onto the forest floor. Dan thinks that he is the story book hero, the saviour, the warrior who protects his village and comes out victorious. The saviours never die, and so Dan thinks _he _will never die. It is only a scratch. 'I'll be fine,' he tells himself, 'I'll get up soon.'

He is wrong.

Here he is, bleeding _(dying) _thinking that he will be saved. He does not think that he is nothing to Konoha, that he is just another Shinoubi. An unnamed soldier. A faceless warrior. A statistic on a sheet. A number. An ink smudge. A nothing. He thinks that he is _important_.

He is wrong. _(And he knows it) _

He thinks he will be remembered as a great warrior. He thinks he will never sink into time. He thinks he will get better. He thinks he will be remembered. He thinks he will be Hokage. He thinks he will see her again, he will marry her, he will have just a _little _more time, yes, just a _little_, just a _bit_. Surely fate is not that cruel? Surely he will get up, he will get better, he will not die.

He is wrong. He will not be remembered. He will not be Hokage. He will not marry her. He will never get better. He is going to die. _(And he knows it) _

Dan feels hot water leak down his cheeks. He thinks it is his own tears. He tastes something salty on the corner of his mouth. He thinks it is his blood.

But Dan is wrong.

It was not his blood. It was not his tears. He will never see her crying, hear her screaming, drenched in his blood, and in hers. He will never know the truth.

Dan begins to see light. He smiles - it was Tsunade, she was saving him, he would see her again, he would take up in a hospital, he would be _saved! _

...but...Dan is wrong. _(and deep down inside, he knows it) _


	9. Extra Character 1: Danzo

**Danzo**

Danzo throws a fist against the wall, "DAMN YOU, SARUTOBI!" He smacked the wall with is knuckles. They cracked, they bleed, no doubt they broke, but Danzo feels nothing. He pants and leans his forhead on the wall.

Danzo had lost his _arm _for Kohona, Danzo had lost his _eye _for Kohona! Danzo had sacrificed everything for this worthless, pathetic country that never said 'thankyou', never said, 'we're glad you came back,' never said, 'we owe you our lives.'

Danzo worked his entire _life _for a place that does not _care _for him. Danzo had lost his rightful position – Hokage – to simpleminded, unskilled, _naïve _Sarutobi - someone who was supposed to be his 'friend. Danzo had taken up training Root. He trained the best armed guards Kohona had ever raised. He created the best warriors possible. He, single handely, had taken Konoha from the pile of _dirt _they were. He had made them a force that was nigh unstoppable!

Through all this, he though he would get his reward some day. He would be recognised. He would be thanked and praised and _loved _like Sarutobi was. Love was all Danzo really wanted.

But he never was; and he never will be.

Danzo was hated by _everyone_. He would be hated by everyone _forever_.

_"DAMN YOU SARUTOBI!" _he screams, he pounds the wall with his head. Blood oozes from his empty socket and a gash on his forehead. Danzo stares at the cement walls of the place where he trained his men. This is all he has left now - an empty room with empty promises. Nothing. Danzo will never. Be. Loved. 

Danzo straightens. He looks around again. He shakes the blood that is dripping down his face from his hair. Danzo knew now. He was _hated_. He was _dispised_. Kohona would _never _love him like they love Sarutobi.

But that is okay.

He would create Root again, he would not be beaten by this blow he had been dealt. Yes, Danzo was no longer a part of Kohona. Yes, he would always be hated, but one day, oh, one day, they would all see. One day, he would have a group so powerful that Kohona would _have _to ask him back for his help. They would come begging, hands and knees, for one of _his _root members.

Danzo was exiled by the one country he loved by the one friend he ever had, but he doesn't care. After all, emotion is weak.

Danzo hated one thing and one thing only, betrayal, and as far as he could tell, Konoha and his 'friend' Sarutobi were the biggest betrayers of them all.

Danzo would _get them back_. Danzo would _make them pay_. Danzo would _show them all _how stupid they had been, because they _never _loved him like they should have.

And now it was too late.


	10. Deidara

**

* * *

**

Deidara

"Monster…" that's what the children called him, screaming when his hands opened. He had hated it when they called him that, because it was true. He _was _a monster, a freak, an ugly cruel thing. He was nothing like them.

BANG _He just wanted to be beautiful…_

He remembers his mother sculpting. She sculpted everything – her favourite was birds. Once, he climbed on one, to fly away, but it never took off. Deidara could not escape the world by stone, so he found another way, a secret way. In the depths of the night, he would climb into the room where fireworks were kept. In there, he created things that were so beautiful, so caring. He created them with his _hands_.

BANG _For the first time, Deidara felt like a human. _

His mother had noticed him coming home one night, she had yelled at him." Deidara could not tell her, because she did not understand. She had _always _been beautifu, she was not like him - a monster. He watched her as she shrieked. There were lines growing on her lips, her eyes were starting to droop. It was then Deidara realised that his mother would not be beautiful forever.

It horrified him.

Then, he realised a way to make her beautiful forever. A sculpture – a living one, not like her stones. He would immortalise her. She would never fade.

**BANG **_He had not realised what the white substance was…or what it could do…_

Deidara looks at the burning rubble of his house, his village, his life. His hands grip onto the white material, licking and chewing it.

_What have you done now, monster?_

He just wanted to make her proud, he had just wanted to make her always beautiful, he had just wanted to make her _art_. He looks at her charring corpse. She are black and smoking, her skin is pulled and breaking. She has no eyes, just empty holes. She is not beautiful anymore. She is scary.

**_BANG_**

But, Deidara realises, she will never now be ugly. She can never grow old, she can never let time ravish her the way it had so many others. She is not ugly, she will _never _be ugly. His mother is _beautiful_. He looks at his hands – his monster hands. He looks at the fire, he looks at the blood, he looks at the skin, he looks at the white substance that had _saved _her from that horrible fate.

**_BANG! _**

And he realised, art was a bang. Art was a bang. Art was a _bang_. Art was a _BANG_.

Deidara was not a monster - he was an artist. His mother was not ugly - she was beautiful. He laughed. Of course, of course, of _course! _Now it all made sense! Deidara had been sent to make an ugly world beautiful. Deidara had done what no one else could do, he had discovered the true _essence _of beauty!

"ART IS A BANG!"


	11. Ebisu

**Ebisu**

Ebisu stares at the sea in front of him. The sea does not move. The sea is dead.

Never had he seen a sea like this before, the ground littered with bleeding, dying, dead, rotting, breathless, thoughtless, _lifeless _bodies. He takes a step and the ground squelches, but there has been no rain. Blood has made the dirt moist. Blood has created the mud that is beneath is feet. The blood of people who had died because of _that. _Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are dead.

Ebisu kneels down by his sister – just turned seven. She was not a shinoubi, but an innocent bystander. She did not have to die. She did not haveto_ die_…He kneels and wipes the blood that drips down her cheek from her mouth. She is so small, she is only a metre tall. She was turning eight in three weeks. He looks down and holds his breathe to prevent himself from retching. She has a gaping hole in her abdomen. Her eyes stare up at him, but he knows she does not see.

Dead people can never see.

"Ebisu…" He turns, "Kakashi."

"They've got the ninetails…" he says. Ebisu stands, relief filling the holes grief had left, "They do? I knew it, this death wasn't for nothing, the ninetails is dea-"

"It's been placed in a young child, a baby," Kakashi continues, "his name is Naruto."

Ebisu stared at him. The ninetails was alive? The ninetails _lived?_ He grew a scowl and glared out the dark glasses on his face. How _dare _they save the demon and not his sister? Why did that _thing _deserve to life, breathe, exist, when she will never again! When his mother will never again! When his father will never again!

_When NO ONE in the sea of bodies will never again!!_

Ebisu says nothing, and Kakashi eventually moves away, walking through the forest of bodies, searching. Ebisu looks down at the small body that was his sisters, and decides then and there and he can _never _forgive that demon. He had killed and hurt at least one thousand people. He could _never _be forgiven, he could _never _repay that debt. Ebisu sees only darkness. His glasses remain on his face as night falls. His world is black. She is dead. It will never be anything but black again.

--

Twelve years later, Ebisu looks at the young vessel in front of him, who is loud and obnoxious and annoying, and, somehow, despite his fault, has a way of making people…_happy_. He shakes his head as the boy says something to Jiraiya. He makes the man laugh. It is the first time he has heard Jiraiya laugh like that since the death of his favourite pupil.

Ebisu can't help but think that, maybe, perhaps Uzimaki Naruto is the one person who can repay that debt. He stares at the boy, and suddenly, hatred becomes too heavy to hold, to difficult to manage, too old to care for.

Uzumaki Naruto, though he does not know it, takes Ebisu by the hand and leades him on his first step towards forgiveness. Of the demon, of Naruto, and of himself. For the first time since the incident, he takes off his glasses, and he is surprised by how much light there is in the world. He smiles.

He knows that she is smiling too.

* * *


	12. Fugaku

**Fugaku **

Fugaku's life happened in Six's.

Sixwas the age he was when his father was murdered by the Konoha elders for 'knowing to much.'

Six was the number of shinoubi he killed to finally be recognised a jounin.

Six was the age of Itachi, when Sasuke was about to be born.

Sixwas the number of Uchiha shinoubi who disappeared on special missions for the Konoha government when Fugaku decided it was enough.

Six was the number of plans drawn up before he had decided the best way to _destroy _Konoha for the _daring _to embarrass his clan like that.

Sixteen was the number of hours he expected Itachi to train, so that he could help him obtain this plan.

Sixtysix was the number of times he had denied Sasuke the attention he so dearly deserved.

**Six** was the number of days before his death that he realised that, perhaps, he should have paid attention to the one son that seemed to think the world of him.

Sixwas the number of times Fugaku stepped before he met Itachi at the door, bloody sword in hand, eyes the colour of blood.

Six was the number of minutes it took Itachi to decimate the entire clan.

Six was the number of times Uchiha Fugaku managed to choke out Itachi's name before he breathed his final breath.

Six is the number of sorrys he is _desperate _to make, but now will never have the chance.

_Sorry…Sorry…Sorry…Sorry…Sorry…Sorry…_

…_Sasuke…_


	13. Gaara

**Gaara**

Gaara stares.

Gaara stares at the man in front of him with red hair and blue eyes and a gourd on his back. Gaara stares at the man in front of him, who has the sign of the kazekage on his clothing, who is dressed in a bloody red. Gaara stares at the man in front of him, who is a normal human being.

He had lost Shukaku. He had lost the monster that ruined his life.

So why does he not feel elated?

His entire life, he had thought that losing that demon would _free _him, that it would allow others to judge him as though he was a real human being, that losing him would give him a true _purpose_.

Yet here he stands, and he feels no different. He feels no stronger, no freer, no change. Gaara doesn't feel braver. Gaara feels afraid.

Gaara is not stronger for losing Skukaku. Gaara is _weaker_.

Shukaku was his only companion for fifteen years. Now he is gone. Gaara is alone.

What defines him now? What do people think, when they look at him? He is just like everyone else. He has nothing that causes them fear. He is _normal. _Gaara is a _human_…and Gaara, for the first time, realises what that means.

He has nothing to draw on when he is used up. If Gaara is defeated again, he has nothing that can emerge to save his people. Gaara has no back up plan. Gaara cannot depend on the demon to emerge in times of trouble. Gaara is alone. Gaara is _all _alone…

He touches the scar he has from the explosion…from his death.

Gaara is the thing he has always wanted to be. Gaara is a normal person, but the cost, he decides, is too great. It wasn't about him anymore, it was about his people.

And he had failed them.

Gaara looks at the man staring back at him, but he does not feel like a man.

Gaara stares at his dark, empty skukaku-less reflection, and can't help but feel like a helpless, defenceless boy who had doomed them all.


	14. Gai

**

* * *

**

Gai

Gai wakes up and pulls himself over to the mirror. He stares at the lines around his eyes, the tiredness of his mouth. Gai stares at the mirror, and carefully picks out the grey hairs that have appeared overnight. He rubs his eyes viciously to make them look less tired, and plasters on a smile so the wrinkles are disguised.

As is his age.

He walks to the door and feels his bones creak, his muscles ache. Gai stops at the front door and feels a wave of self-pity overcome him. He looks at his green jumpsuit, his smile, he thinks of this cries of 'YOUTH!'

He is fake.

Gai is old, and Gai knows it.

The picture of his students body appears before him, and he clutches his lip in his teeth, 'If I had been younger…'

The picture of Lee's body clutched in sand sweeps before his eyes, and Gai flinches. The picture of TenTen on the fan, broken in half, flashes before him and he falters. The picture of Neji on the floor, bloodied and lost, causes him to take a step back.

Gai was old. Gai could no longer protect them. They were too young, they could not protect themselves.

And with that knowledge, he falls.

'Get back up, you coward,' he tells himself, 'They need you, they _need _you, get back up, get back up,' and he does.

He straightens his back and wipes his eyes. There is no time for pity.

Gai was getting old. Time was running out. He could no longer protect them, so he would have to force them to learn how to protect themselves. There was no other option. He either helped them and gre old, or did not and allowed them to be slaughtered.

Either way, he ended up dead.

Gai was old, but no one could know it yet. He has a mission to complete before he admitted it to the world. Gai had to save his students, Gai had to teach them how to harness the power of youth.

He clenches his arthritic fists and prays he still has time.

* * *


	15. Genma

**Genma**

"This is a senbon." The man says and shows the needle to him. Genma picks takes it from him and inspects it. So this was the medical needle that was used to puncture organs and kill people in the most painful way possible?

"Doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you."

Genma snorted. The man had a point, "How much?"

The man tells him and he throws the money on the counter, taking the single needle and placing it in his mouth.

"Don't you want more?" the man asks with surprise.

"I only intend to use this one." He says, and leaves it at that. The man stares at him in surprise and interest as he leaves the shop. Genma smirks and looks down, the senbon bobbing, as people look at him oddly as he walks down the street. People mutter and whisper, and Genma once again is amazed by the amount of curiosity humans had.

Within weeks, there were more rumours about who that one senbon was meant for then he could count. Genma was treated like Kakashi and Gai – strong and mysterious and important. Within sixteen days, Genma had become a hero. He had become interesting. He had become _remembered_.

Genma studies the needle one summers night, 'I wonder what people would think if they found out why I got this stupid thing.'

Genma sits back on his chair in his lounge room and picks his teeth with the needle, smirking to himself, letting out a laugh.

Perhaps it was better to keep it a secret.

There was a knocking at his door, "Genma-sama, are you ready for our date?"

Genma stands up and walks towards his door, opening it to three different (and damn hot) girls, and gave another laugh.

Yep. _Definitely_ a secret.


	16. H Kisame

**

* * *

**

H. Kisame

Kisame was not one to cry. He never knew how to do it, it was something – the only thing, perhaps – that was beyond him. He laughed instead. It was his compensation.

When he saw the way his mother looked at him in disgust and horror, he laughed.

When he was a child and took his first steps out into the world and realised just how much of a monster he was, he laughed.

When he killed his best friend so he could successfully become a ninja, he laughed.

When he touched the fated sword for the first time and the spikes drove into his hands, he laughed.

When he heard his government's plans to destory him, and heard his brother's voice in the background, he laughed.

When he came home that night and slashed their bodies, he laughed.

When his own people signed his death warrant and declared him a traitor, he laughed.

When he joined Akatsuki and realised all the tales about him – his murder, his cruelty, his monstrosity – were true, he laughed.

When he met Uchiha Itachi (A man, he knew from the first time he saw him, who was as broken and hurt and destroyed as he was) and realised no matter who or what or where you were, nothing was ever fair, he laughed.

When he murdered men he laughed. When he murdered women he laughed. When he murdered children he laughed.

It was only fitting then, that now he should laugh. The body lies before him. With hands that do not quiver, Kisame picks up Itachi's broken form and places him in the hole he has dug. He begins to cover him with dirt.

He stares at Itachi. He feels his lips pull into a smile. He brushes soil onto the face and patiently waits for the laughter to come.

Nothing happens. 'Laugh damn you!' he thinks, 'Laugh! Laugh! '

But there is nothing, only silenceKisame feels something hot slide down his cheek. He flinches, feels for blood, but finds none. He smiles at the hole.

He could not laugh for Itachi, but perhaps the tears would compensate.

* * *


	17. Haku

**Haku**

Haku was always just a little too late.

He was too late to save his mother.

He was too late to stop his father.

He was too late to prevent Naruto's punch.

He was too late to realise his feelings.

He was too late to push the arm away.

He is vaguely aware of the hot white fist in his ribcage. His eyes meet the mismatched ones in front of him. They are saying sorry, they are saying 'please forgive me,' but Haku does not care. He needs to see him. He needs to tell him. He needs to _feel _him.

One last time.

_One last time…_

"Zabu…" he tries to say, "Zabuza…" The word dies on his lips before they are even properly uttered. He feels his lungs deflate. He is vaguely aware of the pain. Blood slips between his lips.

"Zabu," He coughs, "Zabu…Tell him…I…lo – lo –" He chokes. His breathing stops. The fist touches his heart.

It has been five seconds.

He sees black.

He is five seconds too late.

_Zabuza..._


	18. Hana I

**Hana I**

Hana was a good ninja not only because she is strong and sharp witted, but also because she is good at prioritising.

It is because she knows which parts of her opponents she should attack first that she became a chuunin.

It is because she knows which vital organs need repairing first that she is such a talented healer of both humans and animals.

It is because on missions she always knows what is most important that she never has failed one.

She loves her country, she loves her fellow ninja, she loves her friends and her dogs and her family. She would die for all of them gladly, however, for a ninja things are not that black and white. Konoha came first. She was told everything should be done for the good of the country. She had agreed to that when she had joined the genin.

But she would always prioritise.

She was a Inuzuka first and a ninja second. Family was everything. She only had herself, her mother and now her little brother left. They needed to stand together. They needed to protect one another. Konoha was important, but family would_ always _come first.

She looks down at the three year old boy by her side and takes his hand in hers. If it came to him or Konoha, she knew what she would save first.

Hana knew what to prioritise.


	19. Hanabi H

**Hanabi **

Hanabi tries hard, she tries _so _hard to make her family love her.

She fights for her father, to become the strong daughter he so desperately needs for their clan not to be humiliated.

She is silent for her cousin when he cares for her because she knows he needs to concentrate on his training and focus his mind.

She fights and defeats her sister because she knows that Hinata needs to learn to fight hard, no matter the relation, to be able to lead a clan.

She does so much; she does _so _much to make them love her. But they do not. They never have. At times, she wonders if they ever will.

Her father needs a strong daughter, her father _wants_ a child he can read stories to at night and tuck into bed.

Her cousin needs silence, her cousin _wants _someone he can talk to and not worry about if he makes sense and what he says.

Her sister needs to be strong, her sister _wants_ a family that cares and protects and never fights with one another.

Hanabi tries so hard, _so _hard to be the person that everyone needs, but she knows that it is not enough; that it will never be enough, and no matter how hard she tries no one will ever love her.

And Hanabi cries.

Because she can be all that they need, but can never be what they want.

* * *


	20. Hanzo

**Hanzo**

First, he sees the blood. Then, he feels the pain.

He has not felt pain for years, decades. He can hardly remember it, it's a nightmare in the back of his mind that he had all but dismissed.

Until now.

Six arms stick into his stomach. Chakra filled fingers grab at his intestines and lungs and kidneys and stomach, shooting into them, breaking them, filling them with blood.

If there had been only five, he would have been able to defeat them.

He feels pain so deeply he wants to throw up. He sees white. His ears scream at him. He tastes bitter bile. He smells his own sweat and blood and urine.

In his mind, Hanzo sees the face of every person he has killed. The ninja. The men. The women. The children. Their face contorted in pain, blood on their lips, tears in their eyes, his hand or sword stabbed into their stomach, piercing them through.

He never killed anyone fast.

The hands inside of him move to rip him apart. He has never realised how much pain the human body can go through before death.

He sees the victims faces and feels his throat contract. He remembers laughing at their pain – the pain he now feels. He remembers revelling in the idea he is stronger then the weak. He looks at the faces in front of them. They are filled with cruelty and pride. He knows one day they will feel the pain he feels now, but he also knows he will not be the one to make them feel that pain. He does not care. He sees his victims faces.

He is glad there are six.

He deserves to die in pain.


	21. Hayate G

**Hayate**

Hayate was given until the age of thirty to live.

It was no ones fault he had the condition he had, it was a freak, literally one in three million, as the medic-nin had told him and his mother when he went for a check-up when he was four. He remembers her sad face and soft eyes.

"_I'm so sorry, Hayate…but…you cannot be healed…"_

Hayate had always accepted it as fact. He would die, and his illness would kill him. He decided to fall in love early, he decided to live life to its fullest, so that by thirty he was happy to die.

He is twenty-three.

"_You'll…you'll be dead, by thirty at least."_

Hayate coughs and blood comes out, but he knows it is not from his condition. He realises, suddenly, that he is twenty three, and he will remain twenty-three forever.

Baki drives the sword into his heart and Hayate smirks.

She said he'd be dead by thirty.

With his last breath he coughs out a laugh, "…Liar…"


	22. Hidan

**Hidan**

The reason he prayed to Jashin and killed so many people wasn't only because he found it a sick yet beautiful obsession, but because death is the greatest gift.

In life, Hidan knows, there is only pain and hatred and people who are cruel and arrogant and who will mock you and put you down. He knows in life no one is truly happy, he knows in life that you will never reach your true potential.

So what better then death?

All the pain and hatred left in death. In death, everyone was equal, the rich and the poor and the evil and the kind, everyone turned to rotted flesh and decaying bone.

To Hidan, it was beautiful.

And he knows he can never experience it.

Selling his soul and his humanity young so he could live forever in what he thought would be eternal bliss was in actual fact complete hell. He could never die. He could never be like everyone else. He could never feel the beauty that was the fading mind as it slipped into nothing.

Hidan could never be human.

So when the Nara boy trapped him under the ground, under layers and layers of dirt that pressed into his flesh and caused him immense pain until he became numb and blocked all sight from his vision, he cannot help but be a little grateful.

Because he knows it is the closest he will come to death, and the closest he will come to happiness.


	23. Hinata H

Hinata

Hinata tastes metal in her mouth and feels a faint throbbing in her chest before she feels her lungs fill and her heart shudder and blood drip out of her mouth onto the cold tiled floor.

Her cousin stands in front of her, eyes so cold they burn her, eyes that look like her father, her sister, her uncle, the elders. Eyes that hate her, scorn her, _dispise _her.

Eyes that want her _dead_.

His hand is on her chest and he pushes forward and she gasps as something hard and pointed shoots though her.

And just like that, Neji broke her heart in two.

But as she falls to the floor with her arms unable to catch her, and as she crashes onto the tiles and hears people screaming her name, she feels strong.

She feels stronger then she has ever felt.

Because she knows something no one else does, and that is with a single word and a movement of her left pinkie, she could have ended that match. It would be Neji on the floor unable to move, not her. It would be Neji losing his chance to be Chuunin for another six months, not her.

But she had not used it.

And with the last of her energy she smiles and coughs up blood. She feels Kurenai's hand on her back and she knows she has lost but she does not care.

Because she never used the seal.

And even though she lost, and even though she was being carried away on a stretcher, Hinata knew she was strong, and Hinata knew she had changed, and Hinata knew – oh _God _how she knew – that despite what the report of the match would say, she had won in reality.

Because Hinata knew. She knew, she knew, she knew, no matter _what _happened, no matter _what_, she would never become like him.

And for once in her life, when she closed her eyes and saw her fathers face, she was not afraid.

_I am stronger then you_.


	24. Extra Character 2: Hizashi

**Hizashi**

Oh, how Hizashi _hates _his brother.

Hizashi hates how the curse seal was placed on _him _instead of Hiashi.

Hizashi hates how Hiashi leads the clan, even though Hizashi knows that he is stronger than his brother will ever be.

Hzashi hates how Hiashi can play and talk with Hinata and Neji effortlessly, easily, gaining their love, something he himself can never do, then looks at him with laughter in his eyes and says to him, 'come play too, Hizashi!' and makes him feel like he belongs.

He hates how Hiashi asks him _permission _to place the curse seal on Neji's forehead. He hates the anger he feels and the way Hinata peeks behind her fathers leg and Hiashi's eyes plead at him, and he hates the way his heart squeezes and his mouth says yes while his head screams no.

Hizashi hates that when his wife dies through sickness and he is ready to throw himself off a cliff and leave Neji alone Hiashi hugs him, actually _hugs _him. He hates the way he _breaks down in tears _into his brothers chest and Hiashi shushes him and whispers it's all okay and Hizashi actually believes him.

Hizashi hates how Hiashi loves his daughter so much that he would _kill _for her, and so places his life in danger when he murders a ninja. Hizashi hates how Hiashi is happy to accept the penalty that comes with saving his daughters life.

Hizashi hates how Hiashi says goodbye to him and asks him to care for his daughter. Hizashi hates how he feels hot lines travel down his face. Hizashi hates it, oh he _hates _it, when he sees the same lines travel down his brothers, his caring, scared, shy brothers.

And Hizashi _hates _how he knows there is only one thing he can do.

Hizashi hates his brother because he loves him, he loves him, he _loves _him, and he cannot, he _cannot _just sit back and let him die.

Hizashi hates his brother because he loves him.

And because of it, his son must grow up alone.


	25. Homura M

**Homura**

Homura is a hard man.

He is cold and ruthless through his years of war and Anbu and being a Konoha elder. He detects danger whenever it even hints of raising its head and shoots it down just as quickly. Homura has killed many people. Homura has killed _kind _people.

But Homura is a hard man. He regrets nothing.

At the age of seventy, when he is sitting at his desk, he hears of Uchiha Itachi's death.

He goes cold.

Oh, does he remember that boy. That small, kind-hearted, loyal, beautifully gifted thirteen year old. Too gifted. Too loyal. He remembers the boy he sentenced to the most horrible fate imaginable. He remembers the tears down his face when he was told of his mission. Homura remembers the boy who risked his life to protect his little brother.

Homura remembers the boy he sentenced to a life of hatred.

His throat burns and he feels his fists clench and his heart squeeze.

But Homura is a hard man. He is cold and ruthless and he regrets nothing.

"Good," he says into the empty room. The word echoes against the cement walls. Homura hears the word being said again, and again, and again.

_goodGOODgoodGOODgoodGOodgoODgood…_

He flinches.


	26. Ibiki M

**Ibiki**

Ibiki was known for his cruelty – his ability to draw out pain without quite killing them. Pulling apart intestines while the people were still alive, sticking screws into their knuckles, his use of acid on sensitive parts of the body – he was renowned for his ability to invoke pain that remained until death.

People supposed that he liked his job. No one could do something like that and hate it – it would kill them.

Oh, but Ibiki _does _hate it.

He comes home after interrogations with blood still thick on his hands and screams still in is ears. He goes to the bathroom and calmly throws up as he feels the tears of his victims burning him like acid.

He cannot sleep without shouts of, "My children!" and "Please, oh God, kill me, please, just _kill me!" _haunting his nightmares.

But the next day he swallows down his breakfast and makes his way to the prision cells, and he makes people scream again and tortures and tortures and _tortures_.

Because torture is the only thing he is good at.

He is too clumsy for making things, he is too ugly to be able to have a normal job. His scars set him apart from other ninja. He is too tall to be able to melt into normal society. He is too quiet and solitary to find someone who will love him.

Ibiki is only good at hurting people.

Ibiki hates his job, but he knows, no matter how he tries, there will only be one thing he is ever good at.

And that is inflicting pain.

He stabs the needle into the person strapped in front of him and hears the pained, howling scream. Ibiki feels his eyes pricking and stabs him again.


	27. Inari

**Inari**

The one thing that keeps Inari fighting is the hope that one day he will see Naruto again.

He knows this obsession with the blonde is not healthy, and he knows that ever seeing the elusive ninja again was almost an impossibility, but if there was one thing Inari had learnt from Naruto, it was that there was no such thing as impossible. And Inari needs hope, of _god _he needs hope. He needs someone to save him. He needs Naruto.

So he kept hoping. He kept praying. He kept fighting.

And every day, Pein's army grew larger and stronger, and every day the band of villagers from his and the surrounding towns became smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

It is a cold morning when Inari wakes up and realises there are only twenty people on his side ready to stand and fight. The winter chill hits the back of his neck but he shivers for a different reason.

He grabs the crossbow and they grab their shovels and stakes and kitchen knives, and Inari sends the messenger bird with the letter telling his mother to take the women and children and run and hide, they would hold them off.

And then, like every day previous, they fight.

Inari is not aware he is the last one left for a long time, not until he realises there are seven swords in his back and eight in his front. He feels a rising panic in his chest. He is the last one left.

And he dying.

As Inari collapses to the floor, he glimpses a head of bright hair before his eyes darken. For a moment, the haircut reminds him of the ninja that gave him hope, the ninja who could save him, but then he remembers.

Naruto's hair was blonde, not orange.

And with that knowledge, he dies in pain.


	28. Ino Y

**Ino**

There were lots of things Ino had failed at.

She had failed at winning Sasuke's heart. She had failed at making her sensei proud. She had failed at being as strong physically as she was mentally. She had failed at being there for her friends. She had failed at completing the juunin test. She had failed everything.

Ino was a failed Kunoichi.

True, she was a talented healer, but she couldn't fight. She couldn't kill. She couldn't hurt people without feeling sick afterwards. She couldn't murder, infiltrate, torture or blackmail people.

She knew this, and she knew, to Konoha, she was pointless. There was no use to her but running her family's shop.

Ino was a failed Kunoichi.

Ino picked a flower and watched the procession of ninja before her. There were times when she regretted her inability to kill, times when she missed Sakura and Shikamari and Chouji and actually _being of use_.

But standing here, watching her friends trail past her with faces that looked the same, eyes that didn't glow, she didn't feel like she had missed out on much.

Ino was a failed Kunoichi.

But at least she still had her soul.


	29. Inoichi Y

**Inoichi**

Inoichi can read others like books. He can hear their thoughts as if they're speaking to them. He can delve into minds and feel and breathe and _taste _what they are, who they are, _why _they are.

Inoichi cannot be lied to. Inoichi knows everything. He knows what they think, what they mean, what they plan, what they fear. He knows, essentially, what makes them…them.

He can delve into minds. He can know everything about everyone he has ever known.

But he does not.

There are two people, two people he cannot _bear _to read. There are people that, even with the Hokage's orders, he would not even _touch _with his mind.

Chouza and Shikato sit in front of him. They laugh loudly at a joke he just told. He smiles and laughs with them and feels the familiar tug at his heart when he does, the relaxation of his mind as he lets himself go. He catches Shikato's eye and his heartbeat mellows.

Inoichi does not read their minds because, quite simply, he does not need to. They are closer then brothers. He knows everything they are thinking, everything they are about to say, even without his powers. He takes a sip of his drink.

"My wife is pregnant."

Inoichi sprays out the liquid and stares at his friend in horror. Chouza looks at Shikato in surprise, "Really? Mine is too!"

Inoichi looks from one friend to the other. They smile at him and crinkle their eyes. Well…maybe he doesn't know _everything _they're about to say.

"So is mine," he replies and watches with appreciation as Chouza choked on a chip.

He didn't know everything, but then again, neither did they.

And that's what makes their friendship so rewarding.


	30. Iruka U

**Iruka**

Iruka _hated _Kakashi. No, he didn't just hate him, he _loathed _him.

The man had no regard for anyone but himself. He was heartless and cruel and conceited. He thought that he was better then everyone, better then _Iruka _just because he was a jounin. He loved to kill, he loved to torture, he loved to _hurt_.

…and he had stolen Naruto from him.

Iruka watches as Naruto walks past the ramen shop following his Kakashi-sensei, running beside him, asking him questions, laughing and grinning and hoping, Sakura and Sasuke following on behind. Iruka could have stood Kakashi if he had merely being a conceited, cruel, arrogant prick. He could have easily become friends with the man if he had just enjoyed killing, if he was just selfish and controlling.

But he can never forgive him for taking away Naruto.

Naruto was his saviour, Naruto was what kept him going. He was the fuel to Iruka's fire, the closest thing he had to family…his little brother, almost.

And Kakashi had stolen him.

Naruto walked past him, not even acknowledging his presense, and Iruka felt his cheeks redden. His throat burned, but not from the ramen broth.

Damnit, replacement hurt.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" screamed a familiar blonde voice. Iruka turned and felt two strong, familiar little arms surround his middle, "IRUKA-SENSEI! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOUR FOR AGES! I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU! CAN I HAVE YOUR RAMEN?!"

A croaked laugh, "If Kakashi-san says it's alright."

"Screw Kakashi-sensei! I want to talk to you!"

It took all of Iruka's strength to prevent himself from crying.


	31. Itachi U

**Itachi**

Itachi was a hyprocrite.

'You lack hatred,' he told his little brother, 'you are weak,' he told his little brother, 'without hatred you're nothing,' he told his little brother.

And here he is now, with a sword pointed at Sasuke's heart, and he can't _do _it. He can't stab his pathetic little brethren, he can't strike him down in a fountain of blood, he can't even _touch _him.

'You lack hatred,' he told him. Ha.

There is only one person here who lacks hatred, and God knows, it isn't Sasuke.

The Third's command rings in his head and Itachi realises that this may be the last time he is able to defeat his little brother and complete the Hokage's commands.

Itachi looks into his little brothers eyes and doesn't see a twelve year old boy like he is expecting, or even the seven year old boy from all those years ago that he was hoping to see.

Itachi looks into his brothers eyes and sees a man. He sees the anger and the sorrow and the hatred that comes with the title. His heart races. He lowers his sword.

'You lack hatred.' He tells his little brother, but he knows it is not true. There was only one person here who lacked hatred, and God almighty, Itachi _knew _it wasn't Sasuke. The coal black eyes stare up at him and Itachi feels his hand grow clammy as he turns and walks towards Kisame.

…_hyprocrite…_


	32. Iwashi T

**Iwashi**

Iwashi breathes in sharp as he watches the thriving mass of ninja marching towards Konoha's gates.

Shit.

He was going to die.

"Damnit…" Genma whispers next to him, and Iwashi knows he is not the only one to realise

They stand together in stony silence, Kotetsu and Izumo behind them along with a line of other ninja that were all going to their deaths.

Genma turns to him and gives a smirk, "Hey, Iwashi, Kotetsu, Izumo…" they all fix him with a serious stare, "…I bet I'll kill more of these bastards before I die then any of you."

"Like hell you will!" Kotetsu says and gives him a punch in the shoulder. Someone from further behind yells out, "None of you are! I'm gonna whip your sorry asses!"

Iwashi laughed. Oh yeah, he was going to die, but looking at his friends and comrades since he was seven years old in the genin academy, he realised that, for a death, this wasn't actually that bad.

He turns to his close friends, "Hey…I love you guys."

Genma snorted, "What are you? Gay?"

Iwashi laughs and grips his sword and, together with the rest of his genin class, they jump into the swarming mash of enemy ninja.

Together.


	33. Izumo K

**Izumo**

Izumo stared at the genin in front of him with distaste.

No _way _did these freaks get through the academy. No _way _would any of these people ever be of any use to Konoha. They were just empty vessels, just people to add to their numbers. There was no Kakashi among them, no Anko, no Shizune. They were just…just…just…nobodies. Completely and utterly _boring_.

"Hey bastards!" says a voice from the back, "Get the fuck out of our way! We got a exam to do!" the voice was quickly followed with a, "Shut _up_ dobe."

"You shut up Sasuke teme!"

"Don't tell Sasuke-kun to shut up, Naruto! You're just jealous!"

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Hey Naruto! Shut your team up! You're getting Akamaru excited!"

"Don't blame me for your stupid dog's paranoia!"

Izumo hears a crash and a bang and shares a look with Kotetsu next to him. He spies someone dressed suspiciously in green to his left and two pairs of familiar pale Hyuuga eyes. There's a scream and a blonde haired and girl and a pink haired girl seemed to be pulling each others hair. A boy with glasses and a boy with a bandanna stood leaning against the wall as the havoc continued. A kunai almost hit Kotetsu's head and a boy fell to the floor asleep as another munched on an enormous chip packet.

A blonde haired boy fell on the floor in front of him and glared up at Izumo's smirk, "What the hell are _you _looking at, you ugly prick?"

Izumo cracked his jaw and stared at the boy in annoyance. He looked at the surrounding crowd of screaming, fighting, snoring, brooding genin and meets Kotetsu's eyes again – his _worried ­_eyes – and can't help but return the sentiment.

These kids didn't only have personality, they were freaking _crazy_!!


	34. Jiraiya

**Jiraiya**

Jiraiya stares at the stone and his head is so numb it hurts. He is aware that the people around him are sobbing but he does not falter, does not even concider crying. His pain goes beyond tears and screaming and wishing time could go back.

He stares at the cement block in front of him, with the name that was never meant to be on it, and he feels his bones ache and his heart die and asks the gods why, why, _why _they killed Minato before they killed him.

No teacher should have to bury their student.

He stands there for a while. He is aware that others move away. He stands there and does not want to move because he knows this will be the last time he will ever be able to see Minoto's kind, caring, hopeful, beautiful face.

The pyre is lit and the face is gone and Jiraiya knows it will never come back.

It is an entire twelve years later when he sees him again, and his heart stops and so does time.

The gold catches the sun and the eyes that manage to capture the sky look into his with defiance and anger and the voice that is loud commands him to train him to defeat Sasuke.

Jiraiya looks into Naruto's eyes and the numbness he has felt from that day begins to ebb away.

As long as Naruto lived, so did Minoto.

Jiraiya grips his hands and promises the world that he will not bury him twice.


	35. Jirobo

**Jirobo**

At first, he hates him – that fat pathetic nothing that will never amount to a proper ninja. Then the boy tells his friends to go ahead and leave him, and Jirobo begins to like him a little better.

He calls him fat because he knows that people like them hate it, and watches as the boy gets angry and Jirobo smiles. 'You think you're good?' He thinks, 'you think you're a good fighter, you pathetic little fat piece of nothing? Prove it them. Prove it.'

Then the boy begins to fight, and Jirobo can barely stop himself from laughing. The boy looks like a lump of lard, but he pops a pill and goddamnit he's tough.

He is just like him. Fat and useless and dependent on another persons power.

'Pathetic.' He thinks and fights harder then he ever has. He wants the boy to prove himself – come on, you pathetic fat pig, come on, show me, show them that you're more then you seem. Prove it. Prove it. Prove it.

And when he thinks he has won and defeated that pathetic nothing, the boy takes a bite of a pill and is suddenly stronger than Jirobo has ever been and he's looking at him and he is skinny and beautiful and glorious and it's all Jirobo can do but stop himself from laughing and crying right then and there.

Fourteen year olf Jirobo feels his life leave his body and knows he should be ashamed of being defeated by such a boy, but he cannot.

You go kid, he thinks, you show them what us fat guys can do.


	36. Juugo

**Juugo**

Juugo has killed everyone he ever loved.

He does not remember clearly his mothers face or his fathers smile. He thinks he recalls an older brother and a younger sister, a grandparent, an uncle. In the end though, the faces he has known mesh into a bloody mess of hair and eye and nail.

For so long he walked the edge of inanity and prayed for death to take him, for madness to take hold, for someone, anyone to kill him; but it never came and he killed and killed and killed.

And then he met Kimimaro.

The boy was slight and not very tall and his eyes told a story of hate and betrayal and love. Juugo felt anger (though he does not know why) and when he raised his fist he found he could not hurt him.

Kimimaro was the first person Juugo touched and did not kill. Kimimaro was the first person to touch Juugo and not flinch. Thus Kimimaro became the only person Juugo loved and did not…no, could not kill.

So when he did die, that boy who made Juugo feel like a human and gave him hope that monsters could find happiness, Juugo promised himself to protect the one thing Kimimaro loved and to give up his life if nessesary.

He looks at Sasuke walking in front of him and wonders that, when that does happen, if anyone would remember or care about him…but of course, deep down, he knows that is wishful thinking.

Juugo has killed everyone he ever loved. Except one.

But he is dead now anyway.


	37. Kabuto Y

**Kabuto**

It was such irony that everyone around him was blind to truth while he, Kabuto, wore glasses and could see it all.

The hatred. The jealousy. The chaos. The war crawling under Konoha's dirty, sinful surface just waiting for someone to scratch the skin so it could come out and destroy them all.

He could see the Uchiha's waiting patiently to attack the Hokage. He could see the Inuzuka's dwindled pack loyal to no one else but each other, the Aburame fighting amongst themselves. He knew about Kakashi's insanity and Gai's pain and Kurenai's fear and Asuma's love.

He could see everything.

And he was disgusted.

People told him he was a traitor to go to Orochimaru. The man was a monster, murdering and pilfering and lying and stealing; cheating and torturing and breaking and destroying.

But they were blind and Kabuto was not. He knew that, in the end, Konoha and Orochimaru were the same – with one vital difference.

At least Orochimaru admitted he was a soulless, cruel monster.


	38. Kakashi H

**Kakashi**

Kakashi regrets many things in his life. He regrets not stopping his dad ; he regrets allowing that rock to crush Obito's small, twelve year old body. He regrets missing Rin's funeral, he regrets never telling his master how much he respected him.

He feels Pein's gaze filtering into his thoughts.

He regrets (And he can't believe it) being so cruel to Gai; he regrets not being there to save Asuma; he regrets becoming anbu at fifteen; he regrets those women and those nights and those desperate attempts to stop feeling alone. Regrets _so much _(almost his entire life), But lying here amongst the rubble, he realises the thing that he regrets the most. And it is not Obito dying, or missing Rin's burial, or laughing at the one man who dared to care, or even for all those murders he committed in the name of a country that never thanked him.

'I never did say I was proud, did I?' Kakashi thinks as the images of his students flashed through his mind.

Sakura. Naruto. … Sasuke.

He is filled with so much pride for them, he realises, so much it swells his heart and makes him worry that it will burst if he dares to breathe. Those students who followed him, and left him, and who came back; those students who made him feel human for the first time in years. They have achieved so much. They are so strong¸ and he is so proud of them – painfully proud, dangerously proud – and - and - and

And he loves them.

He loves them. He loves them. He loves them.

And they will never know.

He looks up and he sees Pein's eyes. They are cold and hard and he knows there will be no mercy. He feels a voice float through his head; _This is how my father died._

Like a swipe of a cool knife through warm butter, the chakra goes through his spine.


	39. Kakuzu

**_there _Kakuzu**

People called him greedy and shallow and unable to see the truth, but Kakuzu knows that they only say that because they are young and stupid and are going to die.

He had tried to make the world go around with love.

He had tried to make the world go around with loyalty.

He had tried, even, to make the world go around with betrayal.

All had broken down. His team and loved ones had turned away from him. His country had punished him. He had gotten them back, and then been left with nothing. There was only money. There was only human selfishness and human greed and the principle of 'It's me or you,' that allows the world to go around, and nothing else.

He looks at the kid in front of him, 'Idiot,' he thinks, 'Pathetic,' he whispers. This boy was trying to make a world go around on hope and kindness, and Kakuzu knew that that would never, _never _happen. Money, money, money - that was it.

He moves his fingers to kill the blonde but and a sound comes from behind him. He sees messy hair and a snarl and he realises with a start that he is going to die.

Before Kakuzu is hit in the chest he sees twin sapphire eyes that sparkle and shine and scream, 'I'll prove you wrong, I'll make it work.' The eyes are so strong and so bright and for a moment, Kakuzu feels his eyes say, 'I hope you do,' but then he comes back to himself _there is no hope, fool _and the force hits his chest _kindness is dead, loser_ and he looks into the eyes for the last time.

He smirks and his eyes slit. 'Go on,' he tells the boy with his eyes, 'Go on, try it. Try to save the world, and I'll be there, watching from hell, waiting for when you realise you've been living a lie full of false dreams. I'll be watching. And I'll be laughing. Idiot.'


	40. Kankuro

**Kankuro**

People always stole the ones he loved just as he was getting to know them.

Death stole his mother when he was six.

Insanity stole his father when he was seven.

Suna and it's traditions had stolen his siblings away from him when he was eight, and he hadn't gotten them back again until he was fourteen.

He had been without the ones he loved for years, and, when he finally had gotten his brother and sister back, that stupid Shikamaru had to go and steal away his sister again _(though he doesn't know it yet, the stupid bastard.)_ and he knew this time there was no chance of ever being fully his and Gaara's _(it wasn't fair – they'd waited years for her, that pineapple head could at least wait his turn)_

It was just Gaara now - the only one he had who hadn't been smuggled away by death or mind or person.

And now they had stolen Gaara as well.

Kankuro sticks out his chin in childlike defiance, 'I'm going to get him back,' he tells the stunned looking Baki, and leaves before anyone can tell him otherwise.

Gaara was the only one in his family Kankuro really had left. And they had _dared _to take him.

Kankuro grits his teeth and grips his hands. Gaara was _his brother, a_nd like hell was he ever going to let anyone steal him away.

Not again.


	41. Karin

**Karin**

Karin has not needed a man in her life – never.

She did not need her father, her brother, her uncle (they had all abandoned her anyway, bastards); she did not need Orochimaru or Kabuto or Kidomaru. Never, ever, ever had she needed a man.

She is herself and her own woman and she knows and loves that.

And then she meets him. And he introduces her to them.

She is not sure what it was about the tooth that stuck out of suigetsu's lip, or the way Juugo looked at her, or even the smirk Sasuke gave her when he looked her way, but they make her feel...real. They make her feel stupid (Sasuke) and angry (Suigetsu) and Happy (Juugo) and..._alive _and _beautiful _and _herself_ - something she has not felt, she realises, for a long, long time.

And she realises – strong, independent, intelligent Karin – realises.

She has never needed a man in her life before; and she never will.

But she does need these boys.


	42. Karui

**Karui **

It had taken Karui years to become proud of who she was.

It wasn't exactly an easy task for her, especially with Oroi on her team. She had had to go through a lot of haircuts and a lot of clothing choices and a lot of makeup sets before she became proud of who she was, in all her flat-chested, feminine glory.

She was hot headed and head strong and loud and (at times) obnoxious. She was too positive for most ninja's liking, and she was always convinced _she _was right and everyone _else _was wrong. She annoyed her team mates; she annoyed her sensei, and no matter how hard she tried she would never really be able to pull off red.

Karui knew all this, and she didn't give a damn. It had taken her years to get to the stage of self-respect she had at this moment, and she was not going to let anyone - not even herself - take that away from her.

So when she finally did get to Konoha to find a villiage of white skin and light eyes, she did not even flinch (unlike the rest of her team) when a seven year old child grabbed at her leg and looked up into her eyes and asked her with scrutiny, "Why is your skin so _weird?" _

"Funny," Karui says, wrinkling her nose with distaste, "I was about to ask you the same question."


	43. Kiba I

**Kiba I**

Kiba stated the obvious.

It was just what he did; like Hinata stuttering and Shino wearing that stupid great coat and Sakura dying her hair pink and swearing it was natural. Saying what he meant plainly and simply was something he just…well, he just _did_.

Kiba stated the obvious. It was his thing.

But now, for some reason, he couldn't say what he wanted.

He glances nervously at the people walking next to him, and then down at Akamaru. He doesn't understand why he can't just _say _it. He had never had trouble speaking before, but now all he had to say seemed to have left him and they walked on in silence.

They reach the Konoha gate and Kiba turns to face his team mates, and he sees Hinata open her mouth and Shino move his feet, a sign he was preparing to speak, but Kiba has no words and that scares him.

He knows he should stay and listen and try to find the sounds that refuse to come out of his mouth, but the silence drags and his pulse rases and he turns and runs, jumping away over the mess Pein left of their great city. He can hear Hinata calling his name and feel Akamaru at his heels and senses Shino's disdainful look, but he does not go back, and he does not listen to whatever they were going to say, and he does not say what he wants too, and he knows why.

_Please be careful. Please don't do anything stupid. Please don't try to be heroes. Please don't be stupid. I love you. _

Kiba moves faster and faster and faster, and the words lie in his heart like a tonne of glass shards.

_I love you. I love you. Please, please, please, please, please. Don't be stupid. Run. Please. _

He didn't want to say them, because they sounded like goodbye.


	44. Kidomaru

_Kidomaru_

The way he saw it, life was a game.

You were born, you lived, you died – and in the end all that really mattered was the amount you screwed up the players around you so that in the end you had the winning hand, or the most points, or prevented them from moving anywhere.

Life was a skill game, and he played it like it was one.

He dodges the hands as they dart to his chest, _knight to b4_, and moves his webs with deadly precision, _rook to e12_, and he knows in the end that there was no chance to it – it was strategy and power and being one step ahead, _bishop to a7_, and in the end someone had to lose, _queen to c9_, and damn this guy was good, _pawn to d3,_ and the one that did lose lost because they were the weakest, _knight to c11_, and they lost because they completely, utterly deserved it, because they played the game badly, _bishop to c12_.

Kidomaru smirks.

_Checkmate._

He stares at the boy with empty eyes in front of him and blood drips from his mouth. There could only ever be one winner.

Kidomaru breathes in blood and feels his heart chambers fill, but he does not blame the boy who did this too him. It was a game, afterall, and unfair as it was, he had to play by the rules.

_The weakest one always goes down first. _


	45. Kimimaro

**Kimimaro**

He tried his best to deny it.

When Kabuto asked to examine him he would make excuses and go on missions. He would work harder when he felt ill, in hopes physical pain would make the internal pain go away. For a moment, he had almost thought he had beaten it.

But then he coughed up blood, and he knew he could not deny it any more.

Kimimaro was dying.

And he was doing it painfully.

He could stand the slow upheaval of his lungs, the constant choking on blood, the slow disintegration of his digestive tract as the gastric acids began to accumulate in his stomach. He could stand the pain in his very bones from the lack of appropriate circulation; he could handle the blackouts as his brain began to shut itself down sections at a time.

But he could not stand that.

Oroichimaru looks at him and shakes his head sadly, and whispers something about disappointing him and letting him down, and Kimimaro wants to scream and scream and scream, and pull his ears off and scratch his eyes out, because he can not bear it, he can not _bear it,_ to cause pain to the _one thing_ he has _ever_ loved.

The one thing that has ever loved him.

When disease finally claims his soul, Kimimaro knows he should feel sad, because he is fifteen and young and he does not deserve it, but he finds he can only smile. There will be no more pain for Oroichimaru this way, and that meant there would no longer be any pain for him.

_Sorry…I was…not strong enough…_


	46. Kin T

**Kin T **

Kin was not a stupid person.

Out of her team mates, it's fairly obvious she is the smartest, because she knows, unlike Dosu, that binding yourself up in thick white bandages is _not_ an appropriate camouflage in a green forest, and she knows, unlike Zaku, that revealing you have tiny passage ways throughout your body is _not _a good idea when your opponent is a bug-wielding freak.

She knows the importance of hygiene, of thinking ahead, of aiming properly, of not rushing into things, she knows the importance of strategy and uses it.

But, apparently, she forgot the importance of the fact that if you stand next to a wall, and your opponent has the ability to control your every move, you're screaming body-wall collision.

Kin sighs and puts her hands over her face. The white walls of the hospital seem to mock her, and she knows that Zaku will _never_ let her live this down. She draws her hands away and gulps, staring at the ceiling.

Neither would Oroichimaru.

She began to tremble.

Kin was not a stupid person.


	47. Kirabi

**Kirabi**

Kirabi lies on his back and stares at the sky. A cloud drifts over the sun and he scowls and flips on his stomach, "This ain't fair, yo, I want the sun to come back, you know?" The sudden realisation that he rhymed without even trying occurs to him, and with a triumphant smile he writes it down in his rap book, muttering to himself, "Just when I think happiness has been found, out comes a cloud – woah, yo, totally not cool, bro!"

"What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"Shut up Hachi," he tells his inner demon, and writes faster.

"Those stupid rhymes again? There's no point in you doing them."

Kirabi clenches his firsts and pouts angrily, "There is so! I'm going to become a rapper one day, you know."

"Our duty is to protect, not to rap—hey, are you even listening to me?!"

Kirabi throws down his book in anger and kicks his pen away, "Yes I'm listening to you!" 'I'm always listening!' He thinks with unexplainable anguish. He throws himself down on the ground and stares out over the vast expanse of water in front of him. There is a moment of silence between to two. Kirabi feels the monster in side him stretch and he closes his eyes, "It's not fair that this happens to us," he says, more to himself then to Hachi, "It's not fair. I don't want to be protector."

"You should be happy," came the voice from inside him, "I've heard some hosts are ostracised and hated by their countries."

Kirabi snorted. He had heard these stories - stories of stupid, backwards societies where people like him were supposedly hated for being hosts, were supposedly attacked and hated and close to murdered by the country that had put the demon inside them.

"Don't be stupid Hachi," Kirabi says, grabbing his book from the grass in front of him and beginning to write again, "They're just stories they use to try and scare us. I mean, come one, the jinjuruki hated? What kind of stupid, Neanderthal society would do that?!"


	48. Koharu U

**Koharu**

Koharu glares at him under her wrinkled eyelids.

She knows she would have made the same decision, of course. Danzo had done the right thing.

It did not matter that Uchiha Sasuke was the last of his bloodline. It did not matter that he was just sixteen. It did not matter that Uzumaki Naruto would rant and rave and never be the same if he was injured, because what is one life, what are two lives, pitted against and entire city?

Uchiha Sasuke was a traitor, and traitors must die. If she had been there, she knows she would have agreed also to make him a missing nin.

But that was not the point.

"You should have waited for us to arrive," she whispers, her soft voice cracking like thunder. She can feel Homura beside her tensing, she can sense the odd looks from the ninja surrounding her, but her eyes are fixed on him and him alone.

Danzo fixes her with his single eye, a look of intense distain upon his face, "I did not consider it necessary."

She narrows her eyes with undisguised hatred, "Well next time be sure to," she whispers with equal quietness, "You are not Hokage yet, Danzo. You would be wise to remember that."

He stares at her with malice, and Koharu feels her heart pick up. 'I can't believe I'm saying this,' she thinks to herself, 'but get better soon, Tsunade.'


	49. Konan

**Konan**

The three of them were filled with so much love for each other it hurt her sometimes. In her dreams she saw their faces – white and pale from barely any food. Thin and bony arms, but their eyes were strong – so strong – and beautiful – so beautiful – that it made everything else okay.

Because they were full of love. And love was stronger then anything.

It seemed to her that the three of them were perfect. They had the right number of people so that everyone was loyal and loving and protective of one another. It was the perfect number to snuggle up in a blanket in cold nights, and to lie on the grass in the summer. It was the perfect number to steal without people noticing, to make sure everyone had each others back. It was not too much not too little. It was strawberry, vanilla and chocolate icecream.

She had never thought of any issues with three before.

She helped Nagato and Nagato helped Yahiko and Yahiko helped her, and the circle went round and round and no one was forgotten.

And then Yahiko died, trying to save her. And then Nagato died, trying to save Yahiko's dream, and suddenly there seemed to be a big problem with three, because three wasn't enough.

Yahiko saved her. Nagato saved Yahiko. But she could save no one, because she was last.

Konan places two paper flowers at the base of the tree.

She loved them so much it hurt more then life and death ever could. She would never love any one or any thing or any place as much as she had loved them And now they were gone.

She was the last one of the three.

Who did she get to save?

_no one._


	50. Konohamaru S

**Konohamaru**

He had never really understood the whole…family pride thing.

His father and his uncle and his grandfather…all of them, each one, was full of so much pride and love and respect for the Sarutobi clan, but he never got why exactly his family was so special.

Sure, they were one of the strongest clans in the ninja world, sure, they had a hidden village that was part of their ancestral history, sure, they were one of the reasons Konoha was still around…but that didn't make them any better then anyone else, did it? It didn't make them better then Naruto, or better then Moegi, or better then anyone else who didn't have a clan or a name or a family to stand behind.

They were the Sarutobi. They were ninja. They were just like anyone else. He didn't understand why a name mattered, because in the end, it's just a name, isn't it?

But when Pein came and tried to destroy his world and his friends and his country, and when Pein held up his teacher and threatened his _everything_¸ Konohamaru felt his heart fill with something so close to ice, so close to wind and hail and screaming, ear chattering _fire_, he felt as though he finally understood the whole…family pride thing.

It wasn't so much pride in the family name, or the family history, or the family profession of ninja. It was deeper then that. Because being a Sarutobi didn't just mean you were ancient and powerful and loyal. It didn't just mean you were proud and knowledgeable and respected.

It meant you loved. It meant you cared. It meant you _bloody well protected_ your friends and your family and your country – you _bloody well protected _them!

Because you are Sarutobi. And that is your way of ninja.

_I'm a Genin of the Sarutobi clan named after this village! I am Konohamaru Sarutobi! And don't you forget it!_"


	51. Kota and important AN

Hey guys, so, um this is awkward since I have become officially the worst updater in the history of the world ever. There's more information on my page for the people who want to know details, but for those who don't - I'm sorry, I was (And still am!) busy, but I will finish all the stories I have started - including this one.

I didn't want to do things like this for this story - put AN's in - but I have to because the naruto character list has, to be frank, gotten completely out of control.

SO out of control, in fact, that I have been trying to find something -ANYTHING- on this Kota character for about two months, and I haven't found anything. Not a picture, not a quote, not anything! at all! All I know is he is a character from Naruto! And dude, come on, he was already on the naruto character list, so I kinda figured that already.

So unless you guys can help me with him, I can't actually write anything about him - because I know nothing about him!

Now I want to get all the characters down, but it's gotten so insane that I can't find information on all the characters, so I'm afraid...some i will have to skip. I will write the ones I possibly can! But I'm afraid for people like Kota, it'll be impossible for me to do drabbles :(

So I'm going to skip and write the next character in the list. And so on and so forth, until the end - and then maybe go back and try the ones that popped up after I started this thing, and then it will be over.

I'm pretty sure that at the end of this project, there will be more chapters then any other fic I know of :P

SO - just letting you know, this is how it will roll.

Now because I feel bad for Kota, I will do a quick drabble that doesn't really say much about him as a person, just to make up for it - and then I'll get started on my next chapter :)

* * *

The thing he hates most about all of it - the pain, the war, the blood, the tears - is that it has nothing to do with him, really. He doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to know about this, he doesn't want to do anything.

But he has to suck it up, and take it like a man, because in the end that's what he is.

He is a man without a name, without a purpose, without (even) a shadow. He is a man no one will remember, no one will cry for, no one will think about.

The blood on his hands looked translucent in the night and made his skin seem far too pale. He remembers times when he could sleep at night, but they're so far away and such a distant memory he has trouble deciding if they were dreams or not.

It's not fair, he tells himself, because he's just like them, isn't he? He tastes and feels and sees, he thinks and kills, he _is _- just like they are - just like _HE _does -

But he is not him; and no matter how hard he tries, it's the golden ones that shine. And he is not golden. He is tin, and dull, and discardable.

He knows how pathetic it is, that even in his own life, he isn't the main character.

But he has to suck it up, and take it like a man. Because, in the end, that's all he is.

And all he will ever be.


	52. Kotetsu H

There are three things in life that Kotetsu can't stand. The first - spiders, because honestly, they were just digustingly creepy. The second was sharing a room with Genma, because he was gassy as hell. The third - and his biggest frustration of his life since his fourteenth birthday - was people asking him about his bandage.

Seriously, what was the big deal about it? Everywhere he went, every girl he talked to, every person he knew - everyone! Everyone wanted to know!

With, of course, the exception of Shikamaru - but that guy was a lazy bum anyway, and was probably smart enough to have figured it out ages ago, so Kotetsu didn't really count him.

It was more embarrassing then anything else, because he had no idea how big it would get.

It was just a joke, honestly! Something he wanted to scare Izumo with when he came back from his first C rank mission alone, to make it seem like it hadn't just been some lame scroll delivery. Putting on a bandage to make himself look tough seemed like a smart idea when he was fourteen, but now? Now it was just frustrating. He had no idea how Kakashi could stand it - people spying on you when you were washing your face or changing, trying to catch a glimpse of what you looked like without the mask or bandage or whatever it was on your face.

But it was too late to tell the truth now - ten years living a lie pretty much meant that if he revealed his face now and proclaimed it to be a practical joke no one would ever take him seriously again.

So here he was, stuck with this stupid thing for the rest of his goddamn life.

Still, he supposed it could be worse. He could look like Genma.


	53. Koyuki

She drinks because it numbs her and numbness is better then cold.

She knows people judge her but she doesn't give a damn, because they don't know what it's like to have ice written in their blood and snow spread out everywhere they stepped. They don't know what it's like to have everything preserved, to feel cold and be cold because that's all you can be.

When she closes her eyes she can still see it, you know. She can still see the snow on the hearth and in her mothers eyelashes; she can see it outside the window and on her fathers hiking clothes. She can see how the bodies pile up on it, but none of them rot; she can see how red the blood is - how it leaks through the white, staining it - but the snow doesn't melt and the blood doesn't leave, and it stays like that - bright and red and sticking to her face and her fingers and her clothes, and it doesn't matter how hard she screams or how much people wipe it off her - it's still there, cold and red and unmelting, sticking to her mind and her heart and her soul.

No matter where she runs and how fast, she can't outrun _it _- because it's written in her name and in her blood; and in the end you can never melt them. Never.

So she drinks, and she drinks some more - because when she does she can't feel the icicle in her spine, preserving loss and pain.

She'd rather feel nothing then cold.


End file.
